Dutch director Martin Koolhoven is set to film his latest feature Emerald Butterfly in Indonesia, following the signing of a co-production treaty agreement between the Netherlands and Indonesia at the ongoing JAFF Market in Yogyakarta.
Set in post-war 1946, the film noir takes place in Jakarta when the country was on the brink of the Indonesian War of Independence over the Dutch. The story revolves around the complex relationship between a Dutch soldier, a US diplomat and his Indonesian wife.
Koolhoven is known for 2008’s Winter In Wartime and 2016’s Brimstone. The latter starred Guy Pearce and Dakota Fanning and premiered in Competition at Venice.
“This sweltering interbellum is the perfect setting for our crime story, which will be told non-linearly, in three parts, each having its own main character, but with other perspectives and timelines woven into them,” Koolhoven, who is also the screenwriter, told Screen.
The Netherlands-Singapore-Indonesia-Thailand-UK co-production is produced by Els Vandevorst (Brimstone) and Huang Junxiang from Singapore. Co-producers include Mike Wiluan and Freddie Yeo from Infinite Studios and Chris Curling from the UK’s Zephyr Films, in collaboration with Thailand’s A Grand Elephant. Executive producers are the Netherlands’ Doreen Boonekamp and Marc Smit.
The majority of the filming will take place in Indonesia, including in the city of Medan and Surabaya. From January, period sets will be built in the backlot of Infinite Studio’s facilities in Batam, Indonesia, and in Thailand. The shoot is scheduled to start in the second quarter of 2025.
An international cast has been lined up for the project, which will be revealed at a later stage.
”Emerald Butterfly is a story about change, and the different ways people deal with it,” Koolhoven adds. “The story unfolds in a way that constantly brings us new insights, as we are presented with new facts, new viewpoints and new motivations.”
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